Time and a Word

Every winter, between Christmas and New Year's, I read the Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies. The opening chapter begins during the winter with snow falling and two boys tobogganing on a hill. Many other scenes in the novels take place in a winter that can only occur in small town Canada; cold and dreary but with a sense of fierce pride at being able to bear the discomfort and survive another day. It just feels right to read it around that time of year.